Shared Sick Leave Program Policy

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Shared Sick Leave Program Policy

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to provide a Shared Sick Leave program for Faculty and Unclassified Administrative Staff.

POLICY STATEMENT:

To manage a Shared Sick Leave Pool whereby faculty and unclassified staff donate sick leave to a pool for the purpose of assisting other faculty and unclassified staff who, through no fault of their own, have insufficient sick leave to cover their absence from work due to their own serious health condition. This policy is authorized by University of Louisiana System Policy Number: FS-III.XXII.-1

DEFINITIONS:

Serious Health Condition-As defined by the Family or Medical Leave Act , is an illness, impairment, physical or mental condition, or injury caused by a serious accident on or off the job, that involves:

Any period of incapacity or treatment in connection with or consequent to inpatient care (i.e. an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or

Any period of incapacity requiring absence from work, school, or other regular activities of more than three calendar days, that also involves continuing treatment by or under the supervision of a Licensed Medical Service Provider; or

Continuing treatment by or under the supervision of a Licensed Medical Service Provider, as defined by the Family or Medical Leave Act, for a chronic or long-term health condition that is incurable or so serious that, if not treated, would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three calendar days.

Voluntary or cosmetic treatments (such as most treatment for orthodontia or acne) that are not medically necessary are not “serious health conditions”, unless inpatient hospital care is required. Restorative dental surgery after an accident or removal of cancerous growths are serious health conditions provided any of the other conditions are met (1, 2, or 3). Treatment for allergies or stress, or for substance abuse, are serious health conditions if any of the other conditions are met (1, 2, or 3). Routine preventive physical examinations are excluded

Shared Sick Leave Committee-a review committee comprised of five unclassified and faculty employees appointed by the president to recommend approval/disapproval of requests for leave from the Shared Sick Leave Pool.

PROCEDURES:

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

An employee shall meet all of the below requirements in order to be eligible to request sick leave from the Shared Sick Leave Pool:

be a full-time faculty or non-classified staff member who is eligible to earn sick leave; and

have completed at least: (a) one academic year of service with the university if employed on an academic basis, or (b) one fiscal year of service with the university if employed on a 12-month basis; and

have made a contribution of at least one day (8) hours to the shared sick leave pool as a pre-requisite to applying to use leave from the pool; and

have exhausted all available leave before requesting sick leave from the pool.

Shared sick leave can only be used on a continuous basis. It is not to be used on an intermittent basis.

DONATION PROCEDURES:

Contributions to the Shared Sick Leave Pool are strictly voluntary. No employee shall be coerced or pressured to make contributions to the Shared Sick Leave Pool. An employee donating to the Shared Sick Leave Pool may not designate a particular employee to receive donated leave. Donations are accumulated in the pool on a calendar basis. Donations are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis to eligible employees. If donations are to continue, they must be renewed. Donations are limited to the following terms:

Participants shall retain three days (24 hours) of sick leave at all times for personal use; and

Employees shall not be permitted to donate to the program if they have less than three days (24 hours) of sick leave to their credit; and

Donations must be made from sick leave only; and

Participants will be limited to a donation of no more than two days (16 hours) of sick leave every three years;

The employee must complete the Donation to Shared Sick Leave Pool form and submit to Human Resources and Student Employment. Payroll will adjust all leave records accordingly before the next scheduled pay cycle. The decision to donate leave is irrevocable.

REQUEST PROCEDURES:

An eligible employee may request sick leave from the Shared Sick Leave Pool by submitting an Application for Shared Sick Leave form with appropriate documentation from a Licensed Medical Service Provider to the Director of Human Resources and Student Employment. The Director of Human Resources and Student Employment will review to ensure that the employee is eligible for Shared Sick Leave. All requests for Shared Sick Leave are treated as confidential and will be submitted to the Shared Sick Leave Committee marked as confidential.

The Director of Human Resources and Student Employment will notify the Shared Sick Leave Committee to call a committee meeting to review the request.

The Shared Sick Leave Committee will review the request and either approve all or part of the leave request, or deny the request. The committee will issue an approval or denial in writing to the Director of Human Resources and Student Employment. The Director of Human Resources and Student Employment will review the approval or denial with the appropriate Vice President for each Division. The Director of Human Resources and Student Employment will notify the employee of any decision.

The committee’s decision to approve or deny the Shared Sick Leave request is final and not subject to appeal.

LIMITATIONS ON SHARED SICK LEAVE USE:

The Shared Sick Leave Committee will determine the amount of sick leave granted for each serious health condition. The amount of leave granted will generally reflect the recommendations of a Licensed Medical Service Provider subject to the following limitations:

a maximum of twenty-two days (176 hours) may be requested by an employee in one calendar year and a maximum of 100 days per employee during employment career;

employees receiving workers compensation or long-term disability payments from an insurance policy are not eligible to participate;

CHANGE IN STATUS AFFECTING CRISIS LEAVE:

Shared sick leave should only be used for the purpose for which it was originally requested. If any change in the nature or severity of the Serious Health Condition occurs, or any other factor on which the approval was based, the employee must provide documentation describing the change to the Director of Human Resources and Student Employment for review. The employee may request an extension of a previously approved request; however, extensions are not automatic and documentation to justify the extension must be provided at the time of request.

The use of Shared Sick Leave that is not in accordance with the procedures and requirements outlined in this policy may constitute payroll fraud and will be dealt with accordingly.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Shared Sick Leave will be awarded hour for hour regardless of the giving or receiving employee’s rate of pay.

An employee being paid from Shared Sick Leave will be considered in pay status and will continue to receive benefits as appropriate.

An employee being paid from Shared Sick Leave will not accrue any type of leave for that period of time. All leave balances will be adjusted by the Leave Pool Manager accordingly.

This policy shall not create a legal entitlement. If the university chooses to end its shared sick leave pool program, any accrued leave would either be returned to active employees on a pro rata basis or would continue to be used through the bank until depleted.

COMMUNICATION:

This communication is distributed through the Academic Advisory Council, the Administrative Advisory Council, the University Listserv, the University Policy Page, and through routine communication between departments.